Recently released wolf pack continues its travels far outside Yellowstone 9-30-97 Here is the latest Yellowstone wolf news. The biggest news is the continuation of the story I mentioned on 9-26-97 -- the sudden and rapid departure from Yellowstone of the pack of wolves that was released from the Nez Perce enclosure last June (see my story dated 6-12-97).The pack now consists of wolves 27F, 29M, 37F, presumably 29 and 37's three pups -- 92M, 93M, and 94M -- and Sawtooth yearlings no. 67F, 70M, and 72M.
On September 26, I reported the pack had not only moved from the center of Yellowstone -- the Hayden Valley -- to west of the Park, but they had moved over thirty miles further west into the Gravelly Range. On Sunday September 28, they were tracked north of Lima Reservoir, well to the west of the Gravelly Range, in the foothills of the Snowcrest Range. Tuesday's tracking flight failed to locate them, although the Centennial Valley and Mountains, south of Lima Reservoir were flown. In fact the Centennials were flown all the way westward to Monida Pass, where Interstate 15 crosses the Idaho/Montana border. Also flown was the country east, south, and southeast of Lima Reservoir to Island Park, Idaho, which borders the SW boundary of Yellowstone National Park.
This suggests that they have continued to move west.
Longtime followers of the history of Yellowstone wolves will recall that 27, 29, and 37 were wanders from the moment they were released the first time from the Nez Perce enclosure back in March 1996 (see my stories dated 4-9 and 4-18-96). That time they moved well north of the Park, and no. 27F whelped and reared five pups on her own in the mountains near Nye, Montana on the Beartooth Front. After a year of trying, no. 27 was finally recaptured as were two of her five pups. Two of her pups were never captured and their fate is unknown. Surprisingly enough, one of her 1996 pups, no. 48F, who escaped from the Nez Perce enclosure in the spring of 1997 has just been relocated. She was located on the Yellowstone River in the Thorofare Country just south of Yellowstone Park near Hawk's Rest Mountain in the vast Teton Wilderness.
In other wolf news, no. 16F has not been located for well over a week now. Two of her pups remain near U.S. Highway 191 in the extreme NW part of Yellowstone. They are no. 111, who is radio collared and presumably, no. 109. No. 33F and 34M have been observed with pups in Gardiner's Hole and along the east-facing slope of the Park's Gallatin Range. It is assumed that these are some or all of the pups of the late no. 17F. They were fathered by no. 34, as were the pups of no. 16.
The Leopold Pack has moved a bit to the northwest of its usually haunts on the Blacktail Deer Plateau. It was most recently tracked in the Sheepeater Cliffs just to the NE of Mammoth Hot Springs.
The Druids remain mostly the Lamar Valley, Soda Butte Creek, and the fringes of Specimen Ridge and are observed by wolf watchers. A friend saw them in the Lamar just last weekend.
The big Rose Creek Pack remains pretty much out of sight. They are still on the slopes of the Buffalo Plateau just to the west of Slough Creek.